Recalling the Past, Living the Present, Anticipating the Future...and everything else in-between

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

I honestly didn't realize how much time had gone by since I last posted. I've been on the graveyard shift for so long, I've started to forget what day of the week it is. So it's September 26th. Wow.

Last time I entered anything was Sept. 13th, my brother's birthday. The past 2 years my mom and I argued bitterly. 2005, it had to do with my wedding and how her friends thought it was a stupid idea that we get married in Vegas. Last year, we argued (I think) about my mom is not doing my brother any favours and that she is preventing him from having a life. I learned that that was none of my business, and not to expect the same inheritance. Whatever.

This year, we decided that we would go to a restaurant (that way, we would hopefully not scream like Banshees at each other.) (Banshee's---Ha!---I've been reading too much HP.) I made a reservation at a restaurant that my mother chose for 6pm. An hour at 5:30, my brother called to say they would be a little late. I changed the reservation. At 6:15 I was standing at the end of the driveway letting Buddy go pee and thinking that my mom and brother would soon arrive. They didn't, but my elderly neighbour came over (unasked) to keep me company, which immediately set Buddy off barking at Old Wife-Beater-Shirt-Iggy. Iggy immediately reminded me that his son also had a Husky, upon which I had to ask if that dog looked anything like my Husky, Buddy. (I honestly did ask, because it is about the 10th time he has told me this, leaving me wondering if he REALLY thinks that Buddy is a Husky, or, is he just so old that A Dog Is A Dog Is A Dog.)

I digress.

My mom and brother never did show up. My mom got mad at my brother because of his OCD need to check and make sure that the cats are inside the house, and then, once he is in the car, he has the need to get out again to check that he really did lock the door, but once again see if the cats are in.) My mom got pissed off, and decided that she didn't want to go out for dinner anymore, she stormed to the door and unlocked it, which relieved my brother because he then knew that the door was really locked and that there was someone home to let the cats in, in case they were still outside. (This is their relationship, which last year I learned was none of my business.)

My brother, Greg and I went out for ribs and my mom got the Doggy Bag, lest she go hungry.

It's now October 2nd, and I am sucking at blogging. I found an old draft and thought I would include it today. I worked a week of days, and now I'm back on the vampire shift. Work is going well, and if anyone is wondering, I am the only person who applied for the educator position and my manager has already indicated to me that the job will be mine. I still have to go for the interview, but I'm not as freaked out as I was. My job partner is presently on vacation so until she comes back, I am covering our full line of shifts, which takes me to the end of October. Just two more weeks of nights and hopefully that will be the end of it for a while.

There is something that is kind of bugging me at work lately, and it has to do with how my colleagues are reacting towards one of the newly hired nurses. This woman has a deathly fear of elevators and absolutely refuses to step foot in one. Most of the time we are not required to accompany patients back to their rooms, the exception is when patients are going to an ICU bed. Some of the ICU's are located on the 4th and 5th floors, so of course, this nurse is unable to get into the elevator with her patient. Which means, that she asks another nurse to go, while she gives a telephone report. On a rare occasion, when some of my colleagues refuse to go, she has no option but to let her patient ride the elevator with a porter, while she runs up the stairs and meets them at the top. This, is unacceptable. At first, I was also kind of rolling my eyes at this phobia of hers, and in agreement with everyone else that she shouldn't be working with us if she is putting her patients in danger. But then, I started thinking about it differently, playing Devil's Advocate when the conversation came up again. In our Recovery Room, we are extremely short staffed, with no end in site. Three nurses are going on Mat Leave in the next 6 weeks, and no one has been hired to replace them. This nurse with the elevator phobia, is really a good nurse and other than the elevator thing, there is no issue with her nursing ability. So, I started thinking, that as nurses, shouldn't we be a little more understanding? Isn't it better to have a capable nurse do her job for 7.5 hours a day, and if she is unable to go in an elevator, can't one of us ride in the elevator with her patient and meet her at the top? It would take as long as a pee break to do this.

I feel particularly bad for her because she is new to the city, new to the hospital and other than her boyfriend, has no friends here. What a warm welcome she has received from us.

Oct 3rd now.It is Thanksgiving this weekend, and we are closing the trailer as we always do on this weekend. Two-Four and I have a big dinner planned for Saturday, and Sunday we'll seal the shack up. Greg still hasn't got around to the repairs and I've stopped caring. I'm secretly hoping that a tree will fall on it this winter, or maybe it'll snow so much that the roof will finally cave in. We'll see. I'm sure that next summer I'll still be bitching that the repairs haven't been done.

Buddy has finally gone into the lake to fetch his sticks. He's not actually swimming yet, but he'll go out as far as he can while still having his paws on the lake bed. It's very cute, and he can catch sticks, Frisbees, balls for hours! I guess that's the Border Collie in him.

My camera has been in the repair shop for weeks now, and I'm getting really frustrated. I love this time of year, and so many times I've seen things that I've wanted to take pictures of. To be honest, the thing I like the most about blogging is posting pictures, maybe that's why I've been at such a loss lately. It would be nice to have a camera this weekend, maybe I'll borrow my brother's.

Things are quiet on the family front. My mom is in China right now. She has been a travel maniac this year! Believe it or not, we have been getting along all right lately. Buddy seems to bring out the best in her, and he is an excellent buffer when we all get together. She really loves him, and secretly, I think she likes being called Oma. Two-Four is also getting used to being called 'Buddy's Granny.' At first she was pissed at being called Granny, but I think she kind of likes it now, too.

Yesterday, I received a long-awaited-for book from Amazon. One of the blogs I read everyday is Crazy Aunt Purl who I think is extremely funny and always sees the lighter side of situations. Her sense of humour is what dragged her out of the muck when her husband left her. That, and knitting (which I haven't attempted since Brownies 35 yrs ago.) It is a quick, enjoyable read and made for a great afternoon in bed with the kitties and Buddy. I should have been sleeping, but this was more fun. Alright, that's it for now.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Something kind of funny happened last night at work, well funny to me and I had a huge giggle inside my head.When I was in highschool I was extremely shy, self-conscious, and awkward with low self-esteem. If a boy ever looked my way (which wasn't often) I'd shrink and turn my back. It's no great wonder I was the invisible wall flower. If I could turn back the clocks I would change that about me when I was younger. Younger, including the years well into my 20's, which is way beyond highschool.Last night I worked in the ICU and I spotted this absolutely stunning speciman of a young buck resident. Let me tell you this: I am not one of those women who normally checks out every man up and down, in fact, on a whole, I don't find most men all that attractive. (And YES! I do find Greg incredibly handsome, and kind, and a whole bunch of other good things) Last night I found myself OOGLING. This young resident might have been 25, maybe 27 at a push, but OMG he was Hhhhawt! I can not even begin compare him to any actor, or model because honestly, he's way better. Tall, dark hair, hadn't shaved in at least 2 days, turquoise eyes and dark lashes...So, I'm reading my patient's chart, minding my own business, and this hotty doctor stops by my desk to make sure everything is ok. He introduces himself as Shane and I immediately am transported back into time and turn into my 17 yr old self. I am aloof, can't maintain eye contact, and mumble 'Hi. I'm Ramomum." I look and feel like an ass. He literally backed away! No kidding. He backed away... and now he thinks my name is Ramomum.He left, and I could have thumped myself in the forehead because I immediately realized how I must have come across. OK, let's get this straight, I am 42, old enough to be his mother for christsake! I am still a dork.Anyway, a little while later I found myself covering a patient who needed to be intubated and Hotty was in the room too. The patient was on isolation precautions and things were a little tense. I was busy pushing meds, hanging blood, doing my professional nursing things, and being professional. When everything had quieted down Hotty and I and sedated patient where in the room alone. I was sweating and sucking air through my mask, when Hotty turns to me and says: You have the most beautiful eyes!Bahahaha!!! I didn't know what to say except 'Oh, thanks!' But that immediately broke the ice and I became 42 again, although I didn't tell him that. But I did manage to worm into the conversation that I was married, lived in the suburbs, had a dog and two cats before I made myself shut up.I am quite sure he is crushed.Because Ramomum is quite a catch. (Tee-hee!)

Monday, September 10, 2007

It ended up being a quiet weekend in the end as we had to cancel our plans to go to the out of town wedding. Unfortunately, little Buddykins was hit by a car on Friday (don't worry, he's ok.) My brother had called Friday afternoon and asked if he could take Buddy down to the Bluffs for a walk. The wind was picking up and he wanted to see how rough the lake was. He parked the car, got out, and opened the other door for Buddy. Another dog came running up and within seconds, Buddy got spooked and started running. My brother said he took off like a bullet and even after he jumped into the car, he couldn't keep up with the dog. We live about 1.5 kilometres from the lake and there is a busy intersection with 8 traffic lanes to cross to get there, never mind the steep hill from the top of the bluffs to the lake. Buddy raced up this hill, ran through a subdivision, then crossed that intersection during rush hour traffic without looking or thinking and ran right into a car. He picked himself up off the road and kept running through the school yard and all the way home. He was trembling and obviously scared, but not nearly as scared as my brother, who arrived shortly after the Buddy did.We went to the vet right away, and luckily there were no broken bones. Some blood work was taken to make sure that there was no internal bleeding, but we were able to bring him home and just had to monitor him overnight. Honestly, it's amazing that other than a bit of road rash on one of his hindquarters, there were no injuries. Also incredibly amazing that a puppy would know how to race home the distance that he did! He is a smart puppy.So, we didn't end up going to the wedding, and neither one of us was upset about missing it. We were glad to hear that it was a backyard wedding with about 250 guests and it was buffet-style so hopefully we didn't put anyone out.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

...and not only is my resume still not done, I didn't get around to colouring my hair either! I did clean the house, and I did give myself a pedicure. And I'm still working nights. I swear that I am turning into a vampire!I have 8 hours before I have to leave for work, and today I WILL FINISH MY RESUME come hell or high water. The position has been posted now, so I really must get a move on.

A Little About Ramona

I am a 43year old "Late Bloomer" living in Toronto, Canada who found the love of my life in my late 30's. Unfortunately while I was waiting to 'grow up' my ovaries just went ahead and turned to stone. We were married in Las Vegas on 11/11, our favourite number.I am a Registered Nurse, but won't gore you with the details. There is not alot that I haven't seen, but I get queasy at the sight of my own blood.There is no real theme to this blog, but you will find lots of pictures of my cats, Mr. Mao (rhymes with Wow!) and The Dutchess. Buddy, is our 2 year old Border Collie-Whippet and the newest member to our menagerie is Laila, a Border Collie-Shepard. I have traveled a great deal in the past and am planning more budget adventures for the future.I love other people's junk and somehow always find a use for it. I have a summer trailer, and never thought I'd be Trailer Trash!I like to read and garden, and wish I were more athletic as I'm constantly battling my weight. I've been on every variation of the WW plan since 1980.I like (make that, Love!) red wine, and probably enjoy it a little too much. Did I mention I struggle with my weight?You'll find lots of pictures here, although I do not claim to be a photographer. Mostly just day-to-day stuff that catches my eye.I always thought I was fairly normal, but lately am having a few issues with depression/anxiety that are causing me to be a bit withdrawn. I'm working on changing that.You might catch a rant or two about family crap, or things that irk me, but generally, this is a pretty happy place for me.